The empress frowned slightly, her eyes obscured by a pearl curtain. She watched as Su Jinli poured the minced meat into the wok. With a flick of her wrist, she stirred the meat with a kitchen knife, her movements unbelievably graceful. The minced meat gradually changed color in the oil, from pink to brown, emitting an alluring, burnt aroma. The young eunuch watching beside her was so stunned that he forgot to put down the colander in his hand.
"The heat has to be just right," Su Jinli said with a hint of laughter, as if she were talking to herself, or perhaps someone else. "If the heat is too high, the minced meat will burn. If it's too low, the aroma won't come out. It's like a story in a vernacular novel: too slow a tempo makes you sleepy, too fast and the flavor is lost." She scooped up a spoonful of soy sauce, and the amber liquid flowed down the handle into the pot, colliding with the minced meat to create a richer aroma. "This soy sauce needs to be aged Huadiao from Zhenjiang. It's sweet with a hint of saltiness to enhance the flavor."
Concubine Shu's face grimaced. She'd been expecting Su Jinli to fumble, but she wasn't expecting her movements to be so fluid, even more skilled than the chefs in the imperial kitchen. Beside her, Concubine Rong whispered, "Look, Madam Su has chopped the scallions and ginger so evenly. Such knife skills don't come in a day." Concubine Shu snorted and slammed her teacup down on the table. The tea splashed across the tablecloth, soaking the lotus pattern.
The empress remained silent, gently stirring the peppercorns on her plate with a spoon. Sunlight filtered through the window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the pearls of her phoenix coronet, obscuring her expression. Only when Su Jinli poured the soaked vermicelli into the pot, added a little broth, and simmered it over low heat did she speak: "Madam Su is a skilled cook, but I wonder what this 'ants climbing a tree' tastes like?"
"You'll know in a moment, Your Majesty." Su Jinli gently stirred the vermicelli in the pot with chopsticks. They gradually absorbed the gravy, becoming glossy and translucent. The minced meat coated them, like black ants clinging to the glittering branches. She recalled the snack stand her father often took her to in Yangzhou. The owner, an old man from Sichuan, always sang the Sichuan River jingle while preparing this dish. The sound, mingling with the sizzling of the oil in the wok, was a fondest memory of her childhood.
Princess Shou'an was getting a little impatient waiting, and pointed at the pot with her little finger: "Sister Su, is it ready? I'm getting hungry just by smelling it."
"It's ready," Su Jinli replied with a smile, sprinkling on a final handful of chopped green garlic. Suddenly, the dish interspersed emerald green with brown and red, a striking color palette. She gestured to the maids beside her to fetch a white porcelain plate and carefully placed the dish on it. The vermicelli noodles, each distinct strand, were wrapped in glossy minced meat, exuding a rich sauce aroma and a hint of spiciness. At the last moment, she quietly sprinkled some chili powder from her sleeve into the pot, just enough to pique her taste buds without overpowering the main flavor.
As the dish arrived on the low table before the Empress, the entire pavilion fell silent. Consort Shu and the other concubines craned their necks to see what this strange dish looked like. The Empress set aside her soup spoon and, with her own ivory chopsticks, picked up a handful of vermicelli. The vermicelli melted in her mouth, the savory aroma of minced meat, the richness of soy sauce, and a subtle hint of spiciness unfolding on her tongue. Its layers of flavor were astonishing.
"The taste...is quite acceptable." The Queen put down her chopsticks, her tone unremarkable, but her fingers gripping the soup spoon tightened slightly, their knuckles turning pale. "I just wonder where Madam Su learned this cooking skill? I had no idea home-cooked dishes from Jiangnan could taste this good."
Su Jinli wiped her hands with a handkerchief, and the black jade bracelet on her wrist shone with a warm glow in the light: "Your Majesty, this is originally a folk snack. The method is simple. It is just some homely ingredients and cooked with care. Just like the stories in the vernacular novels, no matter how bizarre the plot is, it is still inseparable from the basic necessities of life." As she spoke, her eyes inadvertently swept across the queen's face, and she saw a complex emotion flashing in the other's eyes, she didn't know if it was surprise or something else.
Princess Shou'an couldn't wait any longer. She took a silver spoon and scooped a big mouthful into her mouth. Her eyes immediately lit up: "It's delicious! It's even better than the eight-treasure duck made in the imperial kitchen! Sister Su, can you make it for me again tomorrow?"
The surrounding concubines also picked up their chopsticks and revealed expressions of surprise after tasting the dish. Concubine Shu took a bite, her face a little embarrassed. The sarcastic words she had prepared got stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter them for a long time. Concubine Xian, on the other hand, praised her sincerely, "Madam Su is a great cook. This dish may look ordinary, but the taste is extraordinary. I will definitely ask the imperial chef to teach me how to make it when I get home."
Su Jinli smiled but didn't respond. She looked at the falling maple leaves outside the pavilion and remembered that Jiang Yan should still be proofreading in Wenyuan Pavilion. She wondered if he'd eaten on time. The chili bread in her sleeve pocket was still warm. Jiang Yan had gotten up early that morning and specially selected the spiciest chilies, ground them finely, and tossed them with sesame oil, saying that this way they would keep longer and have a richer flavor.
The queen was silent for a moment, then suddenly picked up the peppercorn jar on the table and poured some into her palm: "Madam Su is good at cooking, I wonder if you can use this peppercorn? I heard that there is a way of eating it in Sichuan, using peppercorn oil to mix cold dishes, I wonder how it tastes?" Her eyes were as sharp as a knife, as if she wanted to see through Su Jinli's expression and see through her inner thoughts.
Su Jinli met her gaze and replied calmly, "Your Majesty, are you talking about 'Fuqi Feipian'? It is indeed a famous dish from central Sichuan. It is served cold with Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, minced garlic, and other seasonings. It tastes spicy and fresh. But I'm stupid and don't have all the ingredients ready today, so I'm afraid I won't be able to present it." She paused, then smiled, "But if Your Majesty doesn't mind, I can ask my husband to prepare some Sichuan seasonings and make it myself someday for Your Majesty to taste."
At the mention of "husband," she noticed the empress's fingertips tremble imperceptibly, and a few peppercorns tumbled from her palm, landing on the tablecloth like scattered stars. A few more maple leaves fell from the waterside pavilion, and one drifted through the open window, landing on the edge of Su Jinli's white porcelain plate, red as a drop of congealed blood.
Princess Shou'an was still engrossed in her "Ants Climbing a Tree" dish, her face smeared with sauce, oblivious. The music from the Imperial Music Bureau continued to play "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat." The flute music remained melodious, but with a subtle hint of disorder. Su Jinli observed the empress's gradually darkening expression and knew the Imperial Garden Banquet wasn't truly over. It was like the late autumn weather, seemingly sunny, but a chill seeping into every corner.
She quietly clenched the chili bread in her sleeve. The spicy aroma permeated the oil-paper, warming her cold fingertips like a small flame. Jiang Yan had said that one should always retain a touch of the everyday, so as not to be swept away by the winds of the palace and forget the way home. At this moment, the aroma of this plate of "Ants Climbing a Tree" and the spicy chili powder in her sleeve were her most solid support within these palace walls.
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